Interview: Cambion (2021)

Cambion from El Paso, Texas, have released one of the most crushing black/death metal albums of the year with "Conflagrate The Celestial Refugium", which has been a regular on my playlist since its release. Fans of bands like Diocletian, Angelcorpse and Lvcifyre take note. The following interview with the horde was conducted in support of their deadly music.

Greetings! Firstly, thank you very much for taking the time to do this interview. Secondly, congratulations on the release of your crushing debut album.

Thanks so much for the support, it helps push our endeavor forward.

To my ears, "Conflagrate The Celestial Refugium" is one of the best black/death metal albums of the year. Few albums have come close to matching its aggression and sheer ferocity. In addition, the production really does the music justice. What was the overall writing and recording process like? Are you satisfied with the overall result?

Thanks again for the positive words. Thorben and I are separated by many thousands of miles, but our songwriting rapport is uncanny. With a love of frantic Death, the music is constantly flowing. We rarely disagree on how a song should progress. As for the final result, the band is very, very pleased. Christian Erkens took our tracks and mixed them to an ultimate crushing level. The sound is just raw enough to rape your ears, but everything is balanced and heavy.

Cambion’s music is technically proficient and pushes the boundaries in terms of sonic access. Do you rehearse a lot to achieve such a sound?

Yes, definitely. I mean there are way more technical awesome bands out there, but we try to push our own boundaries and that comes with keeping our chops up as best we can.

Would you ever sign to a "bigger" label or are you content with your place in the spectrum of the underground?

Lavadome has been very forward and fair to us. Jan is a complete underground maniac, not just a 'collector of bands' - he puts out stuff that he really digs. Cambion are among some imposing labelmates there. As for a larger label, they would need to understand our non-live situation before anything could move forward. Never say never.

What are some of your biggest musical inspirations?

Rich: speaking personally, I'm driven to create music for Cambion by classic Slayer, Morbid Angel, Hate Eternal, Krisiun (first 3), and Gene Palubicki's stable of bands (Angelcorpse and Apocalypse Command in particular). Others include Centurian, Fallen christ, and newer stuff like Lvcifyre and Omegavortex.

Thorben: Classic Slayer for me as well. Mixed with some Swedish old school death metal and some more technical stuff such as Origin, Nile, Defeated Sanity, Insidious Decrepancy, Gorgasm and modern bands like Cytotoxin.

What themes do you explore with your latest work and what is the significance of the title?

I'm a simple man, I enjoy the classic tropes in Metal music like the Devil and occult-related themes, Robert E Howard/Clark Ashton Smith, the Annunaki, as well as some historical stuff. The title track talks about how Catholic pigs shelter child molesters, and the 'what-if" heaven itself sheltered these degenerates after death. The Lord of Hell leads his hordes to burn the whole shit-house down, "cauterizing the firmament".

What can you tell us about your drummer? The man is an absolute beast behind the kit.

I had the pleasure of seeing Chason Westmoreland play drums with Hate Eternal live. The man was splintering roof-beams with his merciless power and speed. He beats the shit out of his kit, unlike a lot of the current tapping nancy-boys. Fortunately, Jan at Lavadome reached out to him and Chas agreed to play on our record. We have our fingers crossed that he can play on our second album, let's see what the fates allow.

How would you personally describe your music to someone who has never heard it?

If you like excessive blastbeats and relentless face-melting solos, you'll dig Cambion.

10 albums you can't live without? In no particular order:

Rich: Hell Awaits, Pleasure To Kill, Morbid Tales, Black Force Domain, Covenant, Abduction Ritual, Legion, Exterminate, Horrified, and World Downfall.

Thorben: Reign in Blood, Ride the Lightning, Legion, Effigy of the Forgotten, Formulas Fatal to the Flesh, In Their Darkened Shrines, Antithesis, Entity, Psalms of the Moribund, Masticate to Dominate.

What are your favourite sub-genres in metal? Are you someone who mainly listens to black and death metal, or do you like other sub-genres as well? What kind of music excites you?

Rich: Favorite subgenres are Heavy Metal and extreme Doom, but Darkambient like Kammarheit is great for driving the lonesome distances through West Texas. I do mainly listen to Black and Death, but also regularly to stuff like Waylon Jennings, Hank Sr., Willie Nelson, The Highwaymen, and Bob Wills.

Thorben: Currently very technical Death Metal or Brutal Death Metal. Like Rich I also love to dig into Darkambient but also other things like the darker or virtuose pieces of classical music.

Can you tell us about the artwork of the album and what kind of vision you had in mind? I think it fits perfectly with the atmosphere of the music.

The piece is called "Ordeal of the Abyss" and it's by Shaari Moth, an artist out of California. Its a pretty big piece, done on canvas with acrylics. The artwork has actually been very polarizing; some despise it and some love it. I personally think it's a style that's not so common these days. The artist was basically given free-reign to make a hellish cover with a lot of hidden symbolism. As a side note, she used a real insect on the doorway on the left side of the art.

What is your opinion on the current underground scene throughout the states? And in your opinion, does each state that has a developed metal scene have its own distinctive sound like some of the countries in Europe?

There are lots of good bands if you know where to look. I think, generally speaking, American acts have a tendency to be more on the brutal side. Sadly, there are more bands than ever, so it becomes difficult to comb through mountains of average material. Since I'm a grouchy old man, I screen bands on youtube and almost immediately stop the song if it's something I don't like.

Do you have any merchandise available for people to get hold of? Also, if any zines or promoters out there would like to get in touch with the band, how should they do this? Cheers and thanks!

The best place to look is directly to the Lavadome bandcamp. The album is available on CD and shirts are in the works. I have a few copies of Conflagrate for stateside maniacs. The best way to contact us is through the Cambion Facebook messenger or Lavadome Productions. Thanks to Death By Hammer for the interview, H&K to our supporters!

Album review: Cambion - Conflagrate The Celestial Refugium (2021)

Cambion - Conflagrate The Celestial Refugium

USA

Lavadome Productions

“Conflagrate The Celestial Refugium” is the debut album from these Texas based maniacs and is a profoundly hard-hitting and militant slab of Black/Death. The musicianship on this album is as tight as it gets, including the fact that the music is utterly ferocious, with the bulk of the music consisting of blazing fast drums, shredding riffs, and evil vocals that are more akin to black metal. Essentially, the output has more in common with death metal (at least musically), although there is a fair amount of black metal in their veins, at least in terms of atmosphere. In my opinion, anyone who likes bands like Angelcorpse, Force of Darkness and Infernal War will go absolutely nuts over this, as this album delivers the goods. I'm not saying the band sounds like the aforementioned bands, but they are definitely on par with them in terms of intensity. The music is truly fast for the most part. But not in a bland sense, as each track is peppered with tempo changes and solos that make the music way more interesting than the usual "fast-all-the-time" brutal black/death band. There is enough variety in the songs to maintain a consistent flow and not become repetitive. Slower parts are well interspersed and used to break up the intensity a bit while still keeping it relentless and crushing. I have read a few comments comparing Cambion to Angelcorpse, which is fair enough, though they are far from being called "Angelcorpse worship" as they have a sound all their own that is easily identifiable when you actually listen to their music. There are a myriad of interesting and razor-sharp, flesh-piercing solos, and it's even more impressive considering the band only consists of three members, and considering all the chaos you're being subjected to literally comes from one guitarist backed by a maniacal battery, incendiary drumming and hate spewing vocals. The bass is also very involved in the mix and makes a valuable contribution to the execution. It's a thorough and well-executed display of bludgeoning and vicious black/death that deserves to be heard and is a prime example of proper American black/death. Cambion fucking slays! (HT)

Demo review: Cambion - Unfold Chaos Supreme (2015)

 

Cambion – Unfold Chaos Supreme (2015)

International

Lavadome Productions

Cambion is an international project with members situated in the US and Germany. "Unfold Chaos Supreme" is the band's debut demo from 2015, featuring five songs of blisteringly fast and menacing black/death metal that hits the listener like a freight train. The songs are backed with a considerably good production which works in favour of the excellent rhythms and tempos therein. The intensity is taken to its peak, with insane, wizard-like drumming perpetually battering away, while jaw-dropping riffs and solos are hammered out with fervour and precision. The vocalist commands the chaos, belching out sickened rasps of madness and malice rendering a more blackened element to the music. The guitar solos on this release are absolutely top-tier, fast and precise, and brings to mind Gene Palubicki. A pinch of thrash-infused riffs also makes its way in the mix, showing an affinity for old school metal. The band shows a great capacity for fast, ferocious and evil blackened death metal, coupled with excellent musicianship. For a first demo, it sure packs a hefty punch, and keeping that in mind, I'd definitely like to hear more material from this band. This demo is absolutely sick and I cannot recommend it enough. For fans of Angelcorpse, Force of Darkness, Hacavitz, etc. (HT)

https://lavadome.bandcamp.com/album/unfold-chaos-supreme